Diablo 3 Collector's Edition - FULL REVIEW

Despite the outcries from hardcore Diablo fans that oh no, character customization has just gone down the tubes, Diablo 3 still holds the same brilliance and interactivity that it did over a decade ago with the original Diablo. Obviously, this version contains graphical improvements--blood and bones scatter now in high definition--but also contains other improvements designed to change the Diablo experience, but only slightly.

The result? A highly sophisticated--and addictive--action computer games that invites you to pummel through crowds of underworld monsters to get through mazes and closer to the prize.

Diablo 3: The ChangesAs mentioned earlier, Diablo 3 has gone through a few strategic changes, changes which have been met with joy and disgust by fellow Diablo fans. One of the biggest changes affected the user's ability to select his main character's stats while leveling up--such as strength and agility. In Diablo 3, you're simply not given the option to choose the stats for yourself; instead, it automatically chooses the best stats for your character's class. Granted, most people, if they want a very strong character, would pick the best stats for their character's class anyways, but some people prefer the option of choosing whatever stat they like--even if it sacrifices their "I'm-an-invincible-skeleton-killing-machine" ability.

Still, most experts think the stat revamping is a good thing. "Blizzard might have torn the skill system up by the roots, but there's no separating Diablo from its native terrain: addictive, immensely satisfying repetition," says Ben Richardson of GameFront.

David Hollingworth of Atomic Maximum Power Computing simply has this to say: "No doubt the thinking is that most players would simply buff up the stat that was most relevant to them anyway, so why waste player time with making obvious choices, but making those off-spec builds was always a lot of fun."

So overall, the stat change? Not so big of a problem. Cool off--if you want to modify your stats, try playing Diablo II again.

Besides this, the other important change comes in the way of character class, or the addition of new ones. This too has been met with mixed reviews; some people love the new classes, whereas others think it is damaging the Diablo experience. In this version of Diablo, you get access to five new classes, including wizards, witch doctors, demon hunters, barbarians, and monks. In return, you also get access to new, special abilities and powers that are class-specific, such as the witch doctor's zombie charger ability--and we all know how awesome zombie attacks can be.

Aside from these changes, other changes have been minor, mostly affecting itemization. For instance, Activision Blizzard has removed Town Portal scrolls from the game, instead replacing it with a Stone of Recall, an item borrowed from one of their other games, World of Warcraft. That means you won't have to drag scrolls with you everywhere should you need to leave a dungeon--simply use the Stone of Recall to return.

Diablo 3: Pros and ConsAlthough some people don't agree with the changes, overall I think these changes helped improve the playability of the game. Many of the changes are, perhaps not surprisingly, similar to the changes made recently with World of Warcraft. For instance, classes in World of Warcraft could choose stats from any three talent trees after leveling up; now you must choose stats in one talent tree while leveling up. This has been also applied to Diablo 3, eliminating the complexity of choosing the right stats for your character. Some argue this dumbs down the game a bit--I simply don't see this as a weakness, however.

Gameplay-wise, very little has changed. Like in the original Diablo, you will furiously click your mouse to kill enemies that seem to grow by the thousands; you'll need to use your skills wisely to defeat them. Keeping in tune with the original, there is also a lot of blood and guts thrown around, so it isn't a children's game--keep the gameplay to the adults only. There's very little to say story-wise, either, though I doubt most people play it for the story, which has also been weak in the Diablo series. You'll simply go into dungeons, kill a lot of baddies, and collect cool items on the way--and that's the basic premise of this story. It's very simplistic, but powerful stories aren't needed when the gameplay is already superior to most other computer action games.

ConclusionAs a Diablo game, I think Diablo 3 definitely holds up to its name, and the blood and guts that originally made it famous are still here. Any changes that have been made are an improvement, and don't slow down or confuse players; in fact, it makes things simpler. This is not to suggest it is an easy game, however--skeletons will still rip your head off in many creative ways--it's just that the game mechanics are easier to use. Overall, I give Diablo 3 a perfect rating.

RobertAnn I have to give it a perfect rating as well. How could you not? It's DIABLO 3!! The funny thing is, I hate "click click" games but for some reason this franchise does it great. I pre-ordered and am happily waiting.robert Rating

Reviewer has: Never TestedReviewer has never tested this product, all content in this review is purely based on speculation and should be treated as entertainment only.

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